Lhamo Tibetan Opera
Tibetan Opera dates back to the 14th century when a lama named Thangtong Gyalpo set out to build iron bridges over the rivers of Tibet. In doing so he felt he could increase commu- nication throughout the land and facilitate the spread of Buddhism. Amongst his labourers were seven sisters who dan- ced while he played the cymbals and drums. In this way he was able to raise funds for the construction. Onlookers found the performance so beautiful that they exclaimed «The Goddesses themselves are dancing», hence Tibetan Opera came to be known as Lhamo, meaning Goddess.
What started off as pantomime evolved into a structured display of song, dance and narration. Story lines included national history, ancient legends of heroes and Gods and satires of current events. The performance was a mixture of comedy, high resonant singing, and dialogue often spontaneously improvised. [more]